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Financial Aid Office

Inver Hills Financial Aid Office is dedicated to providing you with the highest quality
of services, programs and opportunities for financial assistance, which, in combination
with the resources expected from you and/or your family, will enable you to attend
the College and assist you in achieving your education and life goals.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is Financial Aid?

Free Money: These are grants and scholarships that do not need to be paid back.

Earned Money: The Federal, State, and Institutional work-study programs provide students
a chance to earn money for college expenses. Student jobs are located on campus.

Loaned Money: These are loans that students are expected to pay back. Federally subsidized
loans are need based and often below market interest rates. Moreover, students are
not expected to pay these loans back until they have graduated or dropped below half-time
enrollment from school. Other loan programs offer non-subsidized loans to students
and PLUS loans to parents of college-going children. Make sure to do your research
with any student loan.

Q: When do I apply for financial aid?A: Every year that you are in school you will have to file a FAFSA to receive financial
aid funds. Our recommendation is to file your FAFSA application as soon as you have
filed your taxes for that year. Remember the Financial aid year starts on July 1st
and ends June 30th.

Q: Who is considered an independent student and who is considered a dependent student?A: To be considered independent, a student must:

Be at least 24 years old by December 31 of the award year covered by the FAFSA; or

Be a graduate or professional student; or

Be married; or

Have legal dependents other than a spouse; or

Be an orphan or ward of the court; or

Be a veteran of the US armed forces; or (basic training does not qualify you)

Be approved by the Director of Financial Aid.

Q: I wish to take out Federal Stafford loans. Do I need to do anything else?A: Students taking out Federal Stafford loans will need to complete entrance counseling
and complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN). Please visit Direct Loans for instructions and more information. You will need to sign in to complete entrance
counseling and the MPN. In addition, you will need your PIN ID from the FAFSA and
two references (including name, address, telephone and relationship).

Q: When will I hear about financial aid and when will it be available?A: Typically, once a FAFSA and enrollment paperwork has been filled out, the Financial
Aid Office begins the awarding process. If any additional forms are required, students
will be notified by mail. After we receive all forms you will either receive an information
request (if we have additional questions) or an Award Notification. This typically
happens within 2-4 weeks depending on volume and time of the year. You will receive
an email telling you that your Award Letter is available to view by logging into your E-Services account.

All financial aid is first applied to your tuition account. Any excess funding will
be refunded to you through the Preference you selected with your IHCC Access Card.
Refunds typically begin arriving during week three of the semester. Please remember
that financial aid funds are provided to students on the assumption that the student
will complete the semester. If a student withdraws, federal regulations require Inver
Hills Community College to administer refund calculations which prorates awards based
on last day of attendance. These calculations require unearned aid to be refunded
and students will be billed for any difference.

Q: What types of students are eligible for Financial Aid?A: Generally, students must be enrolled in an eligible program and make satisfactory
academic progress to receive financial aid. Students classified as Audit, Limited
Enrollment, PSEO and Non-PSEO are not eligible for financial aid.

Q: What is Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP):A: Generally, to meet SAP, students must have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or above and
complete 67% of classes enrolled. For more information, refer to the Satisfactory Academic Progress policy.

Q: What is maximum time frame/excessive credits?A: The maximum time frame a student has to complete a program is 150% of the total
credits needed for the program. For example, if a program requires 60 credits to graduate,
a student cannot attempt more than 90 credits and receive financial aid.

Students attempting additional degrees will have 50% of the required published timeframe.
For example, if a program requires 60 credits, a student cannot attempt more than
30 credits for their second degree.

Q: Am I eligible for a book voucher?A: Students receiving financial aid funds who will have an excess/overage are provided
with book vouchers. Additionally, third-party billing and/or receiving VA benefits
will also have vouchers available.

A book voucher is not additional aid. It allows you to use the financial aid you
have already accepted towards your required books and supplies. Students eligible
for a book voucher will have notification sent to their email address on file.

Q: Can I receive aid for summer session?A: It is possible to receive financial aid for summer sessions. Depending on eligibility,
students may be eligible for grants, loans and work-study. Students interested in
Summer financial should check with the Financial Aid Office for more details.

Q: How can I get a general idea of what types of aid I would be eligible for?A: The State of Minnesota has developed an estimator for financial aid eligibility.
Visit the Estimator. Please remember that this is an estimate and when the Financial Aid Office has processed
your file, your awards may differ from the Estimator results.

Q: How is my financial need calculated?A: By filing the FAFSA form, the Department of Education uses income, assets, investment,
household size and number in college to determine an Expected Family Contribution
(EFC). The Financial Aid Office uses this information to award loans, grants and work-study.

Q: Is financial aid available for international students?

A: To receive financial aid from Inver Hills Community College, you must be a U.S.
citizen or a eligible non-citizen. Generally you are a eligible non-citizen if you
are:

A U.S. permanent resident and you have an Alien Registration Receipt Card (I551)

A conditional permanent resident (I551-C); or

Other eligible non-citizen with an Arrival-Departure Record (I94) from the U.S. Immigration
and Naturalization Service showing any one of the following designations:

Refugee

Asylum Granted

Indefinite Parole and/or Humanitarian Parole or

Cuban-Haitian Entrant

Those who are in the U.S. on an F1 or F2 student visa, a J1 or J2 exchange visitor
visa, or a G series visa, are not citizens or eligible non-citizens and cannot receive
federal aid from Inver Hills Community College.

Q: My parents are divorced or separated. Which information do I use?A: Please use the information below as a guide for parental information:

If your parents are divorced or separated, you should provide the information about
the parent you lived with more during the past 12 months.

If you did not live with one parent more than the other, use the parent that provided
more financial support during the last 12 months, or during the most recent year that
you actually received support from a parent.

If this parent is remarried as of today, provide information about the parent AND
the person whom your parent married (step-parent).

Q: What are the general eligibility requirements for federal financial aid?A: To be considered for federal aid, you must be in an eligible program and enrolled
half-time (6 credits) to receive loans. Some grants may be available for less-than
half-time students. You must also be a U.S. Citizen or an eligible non-citizen. Additionally,
students having defaulted Stafford loans or Pell Grant over-payments are not eligible
for Federal and State financial aid funds.

Q: What is the difference between Subsidized and Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans?A: The biggest difference between the two loans is that the Federal Government pays
in the interest on the subsidized loan while students are in school. On a unsubsidized
loan, the student is responsible for paying the interest. For more information, please
read the answer to the first question in this FAQ list, "What is Financial Aid?"

Q: How do I get scholarships and where do I send the check if awarded one? A: The best strategy for starting a scholarship search is to check locally first.
Talk to individuals such as counselors to determine if local scholarships exist. Inver Hills offers some scholarships directly. There are also scholarship sites available through the web. Below are a few excellent
sites:

Q: I am enrolled at Inver Hills Community College but need to take a class at Metro
State, what do I do?A: You cannot receive financial aid from two schools at the same time. However, Inver
Hills has consortium agreements with many colleges and universities in the area. Please
check with the financial aid department for agreements and required documentation.

Students are responsible for tuition and fees at visiting schools. Inver Hills will
not send payment for consortium courses to the visiting school.

Q: What is loan consolidation?A: A consolidation loan can help you simplify loan repayment by allowing you to combine
several types of federal student loans with various repayment schedules into one loan
with a fixed interest rate.

In most cases, students must be out of school to consolidate loans.

You can consolidate your loans only one time.

Keep in mind that there may be disadvantages to consolidation. Make sure you do your
research.

Q: When I graduate how much will my monthly student loan payments be:A: The monthly Stafford repayments amounts will differ based on amount borrowed and
repayment terms. To find out more, visit Repayment Plans and Calculators.

Q: Are there Financial Aid Limits?A: There are limits to the amount of financial aid you can receive. Please see the
details below for each funding source:

MN State Grant: Students may receive funding for 8 full-time semesters.

Stafford Loans:

Dependent Students: $31,000 - No more than $23,000 of this amount may be in subsidized
loans.

Independent Students: $57,500 - No more than $23,000 of this amount may be in subsidized
loans.

Q: I have to take developmental courses. Does Financial Aid cover these types of courses?A: You can receive financial aid for up to 30 development credits.

Q: How are student loans awarded?A: Student loans are awarded evenly between Fall and Spring semester, between Spring
and Summer semester or during Summer semester. One semester loan awards are subject to
loan prorations for graduating students.

Q: I'm graduating after Fall Semester, what is my loan eligibility?A: Loan Pro-ration Requirement (Undergraduate students only):If you will complete your degree program by attending only one semester of the academic
year, we are required to pro-rate your student loan amount. Your loan must be pro-rated
according to a required formula. If your loan offer is subject to the pro-ration requirement,
then the ceiling on your loan eligibility is the product of the annual maximum limit
multiplied by the number of credit you have remaining, and divided by the number of
credits in an academic year (24). For example, if the annual loan limit is $10,500,
and you have 8 credits remaining to graduate, the most you may receive from the Federal
Stafford loan program for your final semester of study is ($10,500 x 8)/24 or $3,500.
Proration calculations are done at the time we certify your loan, based on information
you provide through the loan request process.

Q: How do I know if I'm eligible for Programs provided through the State of Minnesota?A: An eligible student for MN State Programs means a student who meets one of the
following conditions:

a dependent or independent student who has resided in Minnesota for 12 consecutivemonths without being enrolled in a postsecondary school for more than five credits
inany term; or

a dependent student whose parent or legal guardian resides in Minnesota at the time
the student applies; or

an independent or dependent student who graduated from a Minnesota high school, if
the student was a resident of Minnesota during the student's period of attendance
at the Minnesota high school, and the student is physically attending a Minnesota
post-secondary educational institution; or

an independent or dependent student who, after residing in the state for a minimum
of one year, earned a high school equivalency certificate (GED) in Minnesota; or

an independent student who was granted residency as a dependent student and has not
since left the state of Minnesota; or

an independent or dependent student who is a member (or spouse/dependent of a member)
of the armed forces of the United States stationed in Minnesota on activefederal military service as defined in section 190.05, subdivision 5c; or

a spouse or dependent of a veteran, as defined in Minnesota Statutes 197.447, if the
veteran meets the residency definition used for state financial aid programs; or

an independent or dependent student (or spouse of) who relocated to Minnesota from
an area that is declared a presidential disaster area within 12 months of the disaster
declaration, if the disaster interrupted the person's post-secondary education; or

an independent or dependent student defined as a refugee under United States Code,title
8, section 1101(a)(42) who, upon arrival in the United States, moved to Minnesota
and has continued to reside in Minnesota, or